Testing apparatus.



PATENTED' JUNE 23, 1903.

No. 731,571. A

G. J. HENRY, JR. TESTING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED DBO. 9, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W/ rut-5555 //v VE/V 747R PATENTED JUNE 23, 1903.

G. J. HENRY, JR. TESTING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED DEC]. 9, 1902. noMODEL. 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED STATES- Patented June 23, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CALIFORNIA, A'SSIGNOR OF COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCO,

CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

TESTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 731,571, dated June 23,1903. Application filed December 9,1902. Serial No. 134,509. (No model.)

To all whom it may cor warn:

Be it known that I, GEORGE J. HENRY, Jr.,

a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of SanFrancisco,State of California, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Testing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The present invention relates to a certain new and useful apparatus foruse in the making of tests relative to the action of the impact-streamin connection with water-wheel buckets, the object of the inventionbeing the providing of co'acting means whereby the action of the streamupon the buckets or vanes of waterwheels, the position which the bucketsor vanes assume relative to the stream as entering therein,passagetherethrougl1,and making exit therefrom, the discharge of the water fromthe buckets or vanes, and the action of the buckets or vanes undervarying conditions may be readily ascertained.

To comprehend the invention, reference should be had to the accompanyingsheets of drawings, wherein- Figure l is a front view in elevation ofthe apparatus, partly in section. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of theapparatus. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional end view of the apparatus,viewed from the Water-inlet end; and Fig. 4 is a similar view disclosinga modification as to the arrangement of the light-supplying shutter ordisk, the same being located at the front of the water-wheel casing.

The numeral 1 is used to indicate any suitable style of base orplatform, which supports the water-wheel casing 2. This casing isprovided with a removable glass front 4. Between the casing 2 and theplatform 1 there is arranged a frame 5, preferably rectangular inform,which is free of top or bottom. This frame is covered by a glass plate3, which rests upon a packing-ring 3. In the bottom of the water-wheelcasing is out an opening 4', through which light enters the interior ofthe water-wheel casing. Through the platform 1 is formed an opening a,which corresponds in size with that of the rectangular frame 5.

The platform 1 in the present case is suspended by means of the hangers6, undue strain being eliminated by the employment of supports 7.However, the form of supporting-frame is an im material feature, as anydesired style of support for the apparatus may be employed.

Through the water-wheel casing extends a drive-shaft 8, upon theprojecting end of which is detachably secured a water-Wheel 9. To theperiphery of this wheel a number of water-wheel buckets or vanes 10 areattached, which buckets may be of one kind or style, or a number ofdifferent buckets may be placed thereon, according to the will of theoperator. The drive-shaft works in bearings of brackets 11, and the sameis driven from any suitable source of power, as through the medium ofthe power-belt 12, working over pulley-wheel 13, secured to the saidshaft, or the same may be driven by the action of the im pact-streamupon the water-wheel attached to the said drive-shaft.

Through one end of the water-wheel casing extends a water-nozzle 14:,with which connects the Water-supply pipe 15., This nozzle is sopositioned that the impact-stream discharged therefrom strikes orimpinges against the vanes or buckets 10 of the water-Wheel in the samemanner as When the wheel is placed in actual use. The waste or utilizedWater escapes from the water-wheel casing through a suitable outlet,being carried off by discharge-pipe b.

It will be understood that the testing apparatus is used in what isknown as a dark room, or the light must be so cut off as to precludeobservation of the action of the wheel within the water-wheelcasing-without light being projected into the said Waterwheel casing. Toobtain the effect of the streams action upon the water-wheel buckets orvanes, it is required that light-flashes be projected into the casing,so as to strike the impact-stream when one of the buckets or vanesreaches a point therein at which the operator desires to makeobservations or study the effect of the action of the water thereon.This may be accomplished in various ways, either by reflected sunlightor by artificial light. Asimple and effective mannor of obtaining thisresult consists in pro jecting into the casing light-rays through themedium of a disk shutter. In the drawings two disk shutters areillustrated, although, as will be hereinafter explained, only oneshutter is required. Disk shutter 16, which shall hereinafter be termedthe horizontal disk shutter, is arranged to rotate in a horizontal planebeneath the frame 5. This shutter is secured to the lower end of theverticallymovable rotatable shaft 17, which works within the guide 18.To the upper end of shaft 17 is attached a pinion 19,which when theshaft is raised meshes with gear 20, secured to the drive-shaft 8. Thegear connection between the vertical shaft 17 and the drive-shaft S issuch. as to drive the shaft 17 at a ratio of six to one. This is due tothe fact that there are twenty-four buckets or vanes 10 attached to theperiphery of the water-wheel 9, while in the disk shutter 16 are cutonly four radial slots 21. To permit of a flash of light being admittedinto the wheel-casing through the radial slots 21, so as to strike ontoeach bucket within the impact-stream, it is required where the number ofbuckets exceed the light-openings six to one that the horizontal disk bedriven at six times the speed of the water-wheel. Of course it will beunderstood that the ratio of speed given is not an arbitrary one,inasmuch as the driven speed of the horizontal shutter is dependent uponthe relation which the light-openings cut therein bear to the number ofbuckets or vanes attached to the periphery of the waterwheel and is alsodependent upon the effect sought to be attained. Where the speed of thehorizontal disk shutter is such that the light admitted into thewater-wheel casing through the radial openings bears upon each bucket ata common point in the impactstream, the effect produced is that of thewater-wheel remaining stationary. This is the desired effect whenseeking to study the action of the impact-stream as though bearing upona single bucket or where it is desired to take photographs to illustratethe action of the impact-stream.

The vertical shaft 17 is raised and lowered by means of the lever 22,fulcrumed to the inner supporting-bracket 11. The inner end of thislever bears against the pinion 19. Consequently when the outer end ofthe lever 22 is thrown downward its opposite end moves upward and raisesor lifts the vertical shaft, so as to place the pinion 19 into mesh withgear 20.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 a simple form for projecting light onto thehorizontal disk shutter is illustrated, the same comprising a lens 23,mounted in a suitable frame 24:, placed at one side of the apparatus, amirror 25, arranged below the platform 1 at an angle of about forty-fivedegrees, which receives the rays of light from the lens 23, and a lens26, secured within the platform 1, so as to lie directly below thehorizontal shutter 16. The light admitted through lens 23 onto themirror 25 is reflected upwardly onto lens 26, through which it isprojected into the water-wheel casing through the radial slots 21 of thehorizontal disk shutter 16 during rotation of the said disk. Each time aradial slot 21 during rotation of the horizontal disk shutter 16 movesthrough the focus of the lens 26 a flash of light is admitted into thewater-wheel casing, illuminating the interior thereof at the moment thebucket is in the desired position. Owing to the speed at which thehorizontal disk shutter rotates the appearance is that of a constant ornon-interrupted stream of light projected into the water-wheel casing.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings a second disk shutter 27, providedwith radial slots 28, is illustrated. This shutter is arranged to coverthe lens 23 in the same manner as the horizontal disk shutter coverslens 26. The disk 27 is secured to one end of shaft 29, working inbearing 30 of support 31. To the opposite end of shaft 29 is attached apinion 32, which pinion meshes with a pinion 33, secured to across-shaft 34:. Said shaft works in bearings 35 and is driven from thedriveshaft 8 by means of a belt 36, which belt works over cone 37,secured to the drive-shaft 8, and cone 38, attached to cross-shaft 34.By changing the position of the belt 36 upon the cones the speed of thedisk 27 may be either increased or decreased in respect to driveshaft 8in accordance with the desire of the operator. WVhen the disk shutter 27is employed to admit of a series of light-flashes into the water-wheelcasing through the medium of the before-described lens andreflecting-mirror, the horizontal disk shutter preferably isdisconnected from the drive-shaft and so arranged that one of its radialslots stands immediately over and in the focus of the lens 26. It isrequired that the shutter 16 be disconnected where the speed of the diskshutter 27 is above or below what would be that of the horizontal diskshutter 16 if connected with the drive=shaft, inasmuch as the speed ofsaid shutter 16 is not variable, as in the case of the shutter 27.

In the use of either disk shutter 16 or 27 to admit a source ofinterrupted light into the water-wheel casing where the water-wheelbuckets bear to the light-openings of the disks as six to one and thespeed of the disks to the wheel is at a ratio of six to one theappearance produced is that of the wheel standing still. To produce aneffect of the wheel moving in the direction of rotation to carrv itsbuckets away from or out of the impactstream, it is only required thatthe speed of disk shutter 27 be decreased below the ratio of six to oneby shifting of the belt 36. By so doing the flashes of light admittedinto the water-wheel casint are less than that of the water-wheelbuckets or vanes passing in a unit of time, thereby producing anappearance as though the wheel advanced or carried the buckets or vanesaway from or out of the impact-stream.

If, however, instead of driv- ICC ' of the Water-wheel casing.

ingthedisk shutter 27at the describedreduced speed the speed thereof beincreased by shifting belt 36 above the ratio of six to one or six timesthat of the drive-shaft 8, then the appearance is that of thewater-wheel receding or the buckets being carried backward or contraryto the direction of the water-wheels rotation. Thus the operator isenabled to study the action of the impact-stream under varyi gconditions of the water-wh eel, t ereby obtaining accurate knowledge ofthe angle and curves of discharge f the water at whatever speed thewater-wheel may be driven.

The main value of the invention resides in being able to makecomparative test as to the discharge of water from water-wheel bucketsof difierent construction. This is accomplished by equipping wheels Withdifierent styles of buckets. After the buckets of one wheel have beenthoroughly studied as to the action of the impact-stream and suitabledata made thereof by photographs or otherwise the wheel is removed fromthe drive-shaft and a second wheel attached thereto with a differenttype of buckets thereon.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings a modified'arrange ment as to the position ofthe outside disk shutter is illustrated. In this case the disk shutter39 is located in front of the waterwheel casing. It is secured to ashaft 40, which is driven from across-shaft 41 by means of the belt 42.This belt works over cone 43 of shaft 40 and cone 44 of cross-shaft 41.The cross-shaft 41 is driven from the drive-shaft 8 by the belt 36,which works over belt-wheel 37 and pulley 45 of the cross-shaft 41.

It will be understood that any suitable source of light may beemployed-that is, sunlight, electric light, or any other artificialsource of light.

It is obvious that instead of projecting a series of light-flashes intothe interior of the water-wheel casing a continuous illumination may beutilized-as, for instance, an electric light interposed between theoutside disk shutter and the casing. Under such conditions the operatorwill study the buckets effect by examining the same through the openingsof the outside shutter-disk during the rotation thereof. For thispurpose the arrangement of outside shutter-disk illustrated by Fig. 4:of the drawings is preferredthat is, the location of the said disk infront The effect given to the operators eye when viewed through theopenings of the revolving disk-shutter where a continuous source ofillumination is employed is the same as that produced by projecting aseries of light-flashes into the water-wheel casing.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desiredto be protected by Letters Patent, is 1 1. In an apparatus of thecharacter described, a casing, a Wheel in said casing, a plurality ofwater-wheel buckets carried by said wheel, means for rotating the wheel,a supply-nozzle projecting into the casing and arranged to dischargeagainst the buckets, an outlet leading from the casing, and meanswhereby light-flashes are projected into the casing and onto the bucketsas they receive the impact from the supply-nozzle.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a casing, a wheel in saidcasing, a plurality of water-wheel buckets carried by said wheel, meansfor rotating the wheel, a supply-nozzle projecting into the casing andarranged to discharge against'the buckets, an outlet leading from thecasing, means whereby light-flashes are projected into the casing andonto the buckets as they receive the impact from the supply-nozzle, andmeans for varying said light-flashes.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a casing, a wheel in saidcasing, a plurality of water-wheel buckets carried by said wheel,meansfor rotating the wheel, a supply-nozzle projecting into the casingand arranged to discharge against the buckets, an outlet leading fromthe casing, and a disk shutter having a plurality of openings permittinglight-flashes to be projected into the casing and onto the buckets asthey receive the impact from the supply-nozzle.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a casing, a wheel in saidcasing, a plurality of water-wheel buckets carried by said wheel, meansfor rotating the wheel, a supply-nozzle projecting into the casing andarranged to discharge against the buckets, an outlet leading from thecasing, a rotatable shutter, and means for rotating said shutterproportionately to the number and movement of the buckets.

5. In an app'aratus of the character described, a casing, a wheel insaid casing, a

plurality of water-wheel buckets carried by said wheel, means forrotating the wheel, a supply-nozzle projecting into the casing andarranged to discharge against the buckets, an outlet leading from thecasing, rotatable means through which the action of the Waterwheel isexposed,and adjustable means whereby the operation and speed of saidmeans are controlled. I

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

- GEORGE J. HENRY, JR. Witnesses:

N. A. ACKER, D. B. RICHARDS.

